MADRID, 22 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Grifols shares turned around on the Ibex 35 and went from leading the gains at the opening, with a rise of almost 8%, to falling behind the Madrid selective with a fall of almost 4% around 10:30 hours, after the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) detected “relevant deficiencies” in the annual accounts of the blood products firm, although the supervisor has not considered their reformulation necessary.
Thus, the Catalan firm, marked by a volatility auction on the Stock Market, plummeted 3.99% this Friday, until its shares were exchanged at a unit price of 8.086 euros.
In the document published this Thursday by the supervisor, the CNMV has found “relevant deficiencies” in Grifols’ annual accounts, specifically in the detail and accuracy of the breakdowns and explanatory notes that support the figures, although it has pointed out that it has not identified ” “significant errors” in the results, which is why it has not currently identified the need to carry out any reformulation of its financial statements.
For its part, Grifols, in response to the CNMV, has assured that it is committed to improving its transparency and expanding the breakdowns of its financial information following the regulator’s recommendations.
Regarding these deficiencies, the supervisory body has referred to the financial information in some years of the period analyzed and in the presentation of alternative performance measures (APM), in particular the gross operating result (Ebitda ) and the debt to Ebitda ratio.
At the same time, the CNMV has indicated that it has not found evidence that allows it to conclude that the financial debt reflected by Grifols does not correspond to reality.
“These deficiencies, although complex to assess individually and separately, as a whole must be considered significant, to the extent that in some years they have hindered the ability of investors to adequately understand the financial situation, results and cash flows of the issuer. “, as assessed by the CNMV.
The most relevant deficiency consists, in the supervisor’s opinion, in the use of adjusted Ebitda without excluding the results attributable to non-controlled interests when explaining the financial leverage ratio of the Grifols group and its financial capacity to satisfy the debt.
As he has pointed out, this is not in accordance with the legal obligations to reflect “useful, relevant, objective and neutral” information. Additionally, Grifols did not publish the necessary information so that investors could calculate Ebitda excluding said results attributable to non-controlled interests.
